Crosby lay on the ice for several moments before slowly getting up and skating off, mostly on his own power. He went directly down the tunnel for treatment. His leg also bent awkwardly during the collision.

The NHL named Penguins star Sidney Crosby, Oilers captain Connor McDavid and Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky the finalists for the 2016-17 most valuable player award.

1 Related

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan did not have an update on Crosby's condition after the game. He said Crosby and Conor Sheary, who also was injured in the game, would be evaluated overnight and that the team will have an update Tuesday. Crosby has a concussion history and missed the first six games of this season because of a concussion.

Niskanen received a major and game misconduct penalty for the hit. An NHL source told ESPN's Craig Custance on Tuesday that Niskanen will not have a hearing with the league regarding further discipline.

Sullivan would not give his opinion on Niskanen's hit. But the Penguins' Chris Kunitz was not as reluctant to talk about it.

"I like Nisky as a person," Kunitz said. "I don't think it's a very nice hit. I don't think it's something this game is looking for, especially against someone who means so much to our team."

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby had to be helped off the ice after being cross-checked across the face during the first period Monday. Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

"We saw him laying there, and obviously it was tough to see," teammate Justin Schultz said. "He's our best player, best player in the world, and we hope he's all right."

The hit from Niskanen, a former Penguins teammate, came as Crosby was already going down after getting clipped by Alex Ovechkin while driving in on Capitals goalie Braden Holtby.

Niskanen said after the game that he wasn't trying to hit Crosby in the head, explaining that Crosby was moving "lower and lower" as the two came together in front of the Capitals' net.